River Orwell April 18th

The Easter legacy of inclement weather did nothing to dampen the DCA cruising spirit. Nine intrepid sailors enjoyed a convivial evening of good food and drink aboard the old Cromer lightship on the Saturday evening. Present were:

John Adye Paul Constantine — Torch dinghy 14’ Martin Corrick — Drascombe Lugger Alan Glanville — Viking dinghy 19’ (an elegant, fast, light home—build) Derek Harvey — Skipper 17 cabin cruiser Bill Jones & Rachel — Cruz dinghy 14’ Ted Jones — Sunspot cabin cruiser 15’ Peter Small — Wayfarer

The title of ‘rally organiser’ fell to me and I launched into the River Orwell from Woolverstone Marina late Friday afternoon. It was a great pleasure to be joined at this stage by Bill Jones and Rachel with their two-masted Cruz dinghy. Martin Corrick was already afloat and waiting. Both crews hail from the Solent and were new to the Orwell.

A moderate NE breeze and outgoing tide swept me down to the Suffolk Yacht Harbour (Levington Marina). This is now home to the old Cromer lightship serving as the Haven Ports Yacht Club. The overnight fee of 33p per foot, discounted for the DCA rally, was reasonable and included hot showers, and the tumble dryers proved especially useful. An impromptu ‘pre-rally’ was held in the yacht club on the Friday night with excellent food and company.

Saturday started bright with a stiff north-west breeze. A cruise in company was planned to the Walton Backwaters. The weather deteriorated when we got down to Shotley Spit where we met up with Ted Jones and Paul Constantine arriving from the Backwaters and Suffolk Yacht Harbour respectively. We all diverted to Wrabness on the Stour for lunch. The weather staying cold and wet we returned to the welcome haven of Levington Marina with its showers and tumble dryers.

Sunday dawned to thick fog which lasted until late morning. I wanted to haul out at high water so set off upriver at 6am. Local knowledge, compass and echo sounder facilitated a safe passage in poor visibility. The waterproof, self-powered, dinghy echo sounder from Autonic Research of Tollesbury, Essex proved invaluable for following the 2 metre contour.